A CRAZY chase in which police cars pursued a stolen lorry, pulling a stolen caravan at speeds of up to 70 m.p.h. driven by a drugs and drink affected Bolton car dealer, was described to Bolton Crown Court, yesterday, Friday. During the early morning pursuit, Brian Winwood, 33, of Ringley Road, Farnworth, drove the wrong way round the Watergate roundabout and on the wrong side of the road on the M61 motorway. Returning to Bolton he left St Peter's Way crashing through a fence and drove down the grass embankment onto Manchester Road where the caravan became unhitched from the lorry.

"Winwood carried on driving the Ford Cargo lorry down to Darcy Lever where he abandoned the vehicle and tried to hide," Jonathan Dickinson prosecuting, stated.

When he was arrested, Winwood told police he had taken temazepam and had been drinking brandy.

Winwood pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and driving while disqualified.

This was one of a string of offences Winwood admitted, mostly committed while on bail, which included making off without paying for petrol, driving while disqualified, dangerous driving and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Shovel

The grievous bodily harm charge related to an attack on a 14-years-old boy with a shovel resulting in the boy's arm being fractured.

Mr Dickinson said the boy, a special school absconder, had passed himself off as being 16 to get a job on the second hand car sales pitch which Winwood operated on Bury Road, Bolton.

Returning to the site at night Winwood caught the youth rummaging through items.

Mr Dickinson said Winwood sprayed the youth with a hose pipe and hit him with a shovel.

Wayne Jackson, defending, said Winwood felt aggrieved that the youth he had helped and to whom he had given employment should have betrayed him by stealing from him.

After that incident Winwood a man of ability, had gone "substantially of the rails", Mr Jackson said.

Judge Stuart Baker sentenced Winwood to a total of four years imprisonment for the various offences.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.